Beyond the Light:  Old Friends, New Beginnings
by Beth Newman
Summary: We return to the heart of Springfield to catch up with the latest from the Bauers, Spauldings, and the Lewis families.  Friends considered long gone arrive as we witness a rebirth renewed energy of sorts in Springfield.


Beyond The Light

Episode 1: Old Friends, New Beginnings

**Part 1:**

**A Visitor At Work**

Phillip Spaulding pauses in front of the door of an office complex.

_Spaulding Enterprises_

_Phillip Spaulding, President and CEO_ the plaque reads.

Not exactly what I wanted, thinks Phillip. He enters, nods to security, and walks toward the elevator, just as he's done every weekday since his father, Alan, died. With his Aunt Alex traveling the world, it's up to Phillip to run the family business. At one time, this was something he desperately wanted. Now…not so much. He's older now, and hopefully a bit wiser. He's finally reunited with his true love, Beth, and is a grandfather to boot. Time certainly marches on, he silently muses. He smiles, thinking of his grandchildren, Sara and Harlan Billy the Fourth – Little H.B, he's called. Phillip never imagined blood connecting him with the Lewis clan, but stranger things have happened in the town of Springfield.

He'll certainly be glad when his daughter, Lizzie, returns from her maternity leave. He needs another Spaulding on deck to help with the recent boon to business. Spaulding Enterprises has always been one of the most successful international companies, but recently some sort of magic has occurred in Springfield – a renewal of sorts – and a great deal of prosperity, class, and goodwill is raining upon all of them at the moment.

"Good morning, Mr. Spaulding", greets his new receptionist, Kimberly.

"Good morning, Kimberly. Any messages?" Phillip picks up the morning paper, scanning the headlines.

"Yes, several. But there's something you should know," Kimberly begins.

"Tell me in a minute," Phillip replies distractedly. His attention focuses on the headlines.

**Agents Come Closer to Dismantling Underground Espionage Syndicate.**

He'd heard the rumblings and the rumors that somehow The Syndicate had ties to Springfield, but nothing had been confirmed.

"But sir," Kimberly continues, "I need to tell you…."

Phillip ignores her, and closes his office door behind him. He pauses, scanning today's top story, looks up, and is quite surprised by what he sees.

"Well, I'll be damned," he says bemusedly.

"Hello, Brother," sneers Alan-Michael Spaulding.

**Part 2: **

**Construct This!**

Meanwhile, over at Lewis Construction, Jonathan Randall is on the phone, and quite beside himself.

"I'm telling you, Mindy, it's too late to do that. If you want this little project to be ready by the end of the month, it ain't gonna happen." He slams the phone down, and runs his fingers through his luxurious head of hair.

"Mindy Lewis Bauer is going to be the death of me," he says aloud, "unless, of course, I kill her first." He smiles at the very notion. He'd never act upon it, but he liked imagining it. He knows he's got to be careful in dealing with Mindy, though. After all, her father, Billy Lewis, and her uncle, Josh, put the Lewis in Lewis Construction. They gave him a job. A job, of course that's given him roots in Springfield. He needs those roots. His daughter, Sara, needs stability, and she needs her mother. With Alan Spaulding dead, he's more at ease with Lizzie spending as much time as possible with Sara. The recent birth of Lizzie's son has been good for Sara, too, he thinks. Little Sara has experienced a great deal of dysfunction and confusion lately.

No time to dwell on that, Johnathan thinks. I've got Mindy Bauer's Women's Wellness Center to complete.

Just then, his cell phone rings. Josh Lewis is calling.

"Talk to me, Josh," Jonathan wastes no time with proper phone greetings. "How's Reva?"

"Your mother is making it…little by little," Josh replies. "She won't be back in Springfield for a long time, I'm afraid."

Johnathan sighs. "So, what do the doctors say?" he asks.

"Right now, they're chalking it up to deep physiological trauma. Reva's been unstable for years. This last round, following her cancer, has just about done her in," Josh says, sadly.

"And we can thank Jeffrey O'Neal for that," Jonathan hisses.

"Yeah. O'Neal turned out to be one diabolical character."

"Have you heard the rumors?" Jonathan asks. "There's talk that he's a member of the Underground Espionage Syndicate."

"I wouldn't doubt it," says Josh.

"So, what do we do about Reva?" Jonathan changes the subject.

"We're leaving her here in Tulsa at the rehab facility. She's in excellent hands. Shayne and Marina have decided to stay indefinitely, which is good, because I need him heading up all of our Tulsa business. Hawk arrived last night. Reva's been asking for her father, and the doctors think that's a good sign."

Josh goes on to explain that he's in the process of driving back to Springfield from Tulsa. He hates to leave Reva, but there's really nothing more he can do for her. Besides, with the recent turn-around in Springfield, Lewis Construction needs him now more than ever.

"See you first thing in the morning," he tells Jonathan before ending the call.

If I ever get my hands on O'Neal, Jonathan thinks. Reva's mental decline can be pinpointed to the exact moment she took up with Jeffrey. The false pregnancy that Jeffrey encouraged everyone to play along with. The doll Reva carried with her everywhere, referring to it as Colin. 'Just go along with it,' O'Neal told them, 'I've got specialists lined up to get her through this. If we call her out on it, it could have disastrous – even deadly – results.'

Jonathan felt like a damn fool – they all did. How can one man possess such mental control over an entire town? Although he wasn't the praying kind, he did offer up a request that Jeffrey O'Neal would eventually get what he had coming to him.

**Part 3**

**Tropical Turmoil**

San Cristobal is a long way from Springfield, but that's where Jeffrey O'Neal has ended up, looking for Edmund Winslow. The two have a long history of battling, but Jeffrey has no choice at this point – he's got to get rid of Winslow once and for all.

Edmund Winslow has been on to Jeffrey O'Neal for years, stemming back to the days when O'Neal became his brother's double. Although Edmund had little regard for his brother, San Cristobal's Prince Richard, he definitely could do without this particular nemesis.

That's why he gladly accepted the government's offer: top U.S. officials had reason to believe that O'Neal played an integral part in the Underground Espionage Syndicate, slowly and cunningly chipping away at the moral fiber of towns across America. The goal of The Syndicate, the government felt, was to destroy America, one town at a time. Knowing Edmund's history with O'Neal, they felt he'd be the perfect candidate to help bring him down. Edmund Winslow was no saint, and Jeffrey would never suspect that he'd actually be hired by the government as one of the 'good guys'. Jeffrey was no fool, though, for he eventually figured out what Edmund was up to – that's why he had to do away with his old enemy before his old enemy did away with him.

"Give it up, Winslow. You can't win!" cries Jeffrey inside a remote warehouse located on one of the many shores of San Cristobal.

"Or can't I, Mr. O'Neil?" Edmund emerges from a dark corner, ready to be rid of Jeffrey once and for all.

Jeffrey raises his gun and aims. "I've been waiting for this for a very long time!" he proclaims.

"Freeze!" a voice calls from behind. Jeffrey turns, and Edmund lunges for the gun. The two men struggle, falling to the ground. Then, the gun fires.

"Man down!" the voice from behind calls out, "Get all units over to the warehouse!" He races over to where the two men are lay crumpled in a heap on the floor.

Edmund raises his head. "It's all over, Detective Mallet. We've got him," he says.

Detective A.C. Mallet helps Edmund to his feet. "I never thought I'd say this, but good work, Winslow," Mallet replies.

Mallet had no intention of getting involved with the government's plan to bring down O'Neal and The Syndicate. He was in Italy with Dinah Marler when he received a very surprising phone call from a very surprising source. Considering this source, and with his renewed feelings for Dinah, he knew he had to step up and do the right thing for Springfield…and the rest of the country.

"Don't forget, Detective, we have a deal," Edmund said, wiping dirt away from his face.

"The government will honor it, I'm sure," Mallet replied, just as several of his command units rushed in to remove the body of Jeffrey O'Neal.

"I'll call my source to remind him of it," states Edmund as he began walking toward the door. Once outside the warehouse, he reaches inside his pocket and grabs his cell phone. He dials.

"It's finished. O'Neal is dead," Edmund says.

"Good work," replies a hushed voice.

"Remember our deal."

"How could I forget," says the hushed voice. " The paperwork is already in order. Because of your help in bringing down O'Neal, you're pardoned for every wrongdoing you've ever committed. You're now free to wreck havoc on the world."

"Good to know!" Edmund chuckles.

**Part 4**

**Talking in the Tropics**

"So tell me again, Dr. Bauer, how did San Cristobal become the final destination for our world tour?" Holly Reid asks as she and Ed Bauer take an evening stroll hand-in-hand down the shore.

"Well," begins Ed, "we've heard so much about this island the last few years. I thought it might be interesting to see it firsthand."

"It certainly is beautiful," Holly responds.

"As are you," Ed replies.

Holly blushes. "Ed, we've been through this. We've danced this dance for decades. We really need to leave things just as they are."

"And how are they?"

"Right now, they're good. But you know, things could be different once we get back to Springfield," says Holly.

Ed asks her to explain. She does, bringing up their long back-and-forth history: Roger's influence over her, Ed's battle with the bottle, her drive to keep working. When she'd received that email from Phillip Spaulding telling her that WSPR was back on the air and that he needed her to come in and run the station for Spaulding, she confessed to Ed right then and there that she was intrigued by the thought.

"So, no retirement for you?" he'd asked.

"I can't. Work was the only thing I had for an incredibly long time, something I know you can relate to," she responded.

Ed knew exactly what she spoke of; giving up his chief-of-staff position at Cedars Hospital was the one of the hardest things he'd ever done. He took comfort in knowing that his son, Rick, was filling his shoes quite successfully.

They stop walking, and he turns to look at her. "So, once we get back to Springfield tomorrow, you'll head straight to Phillip's office to finalize it all?" he asks.

"Yes, Ed. This is something I really want to do," Holly replies.

"And what does Blake think about it?"

"I spoke to her this morning. She's happy for me. But, then again, she's been happy with everything since she began dating Frank Cooper," Holly smiled.

Ed and Holly agreed that Blake deserved happiness, and steady, solid-as-a-rock Frank Cooper was just the man for the job. Since Ross Marler died, Blake has floundered from venture to venture, seeking to fill a void that her husband's death left. Of course, Blake was never known for her stability, and Holly and Ed were hopeful that Frank would prove to be a positive influence on her.

"I still miss Ross so much," Holly says.

"Me, too. He was my best friend," Ed reminds her.

"You know, it's funny, but a part of me still refuses to believe that he's gone. I just don't feel like he truly ever left us," continues Holly.

"I get that same feeling from time to time. Ross Marler was truly the best of the best. It's hard to let someone like that go," Ed takes Holly's hand, and they begin making their way back to the hotel.

**Part 5**

**Back At Work**

"So," Phillip begins, "what brings you back to town?"

"I'm here to claim what's rightfully mine," replies Alan-Michael.

Phillip points out that they've been down this road several times before. "You can't just waltz back into town and expect me to hand Spaulding over to you!" Phillip chuckles.

"I'm the Spaulding son and heir," says Alan-Michal.

"As am I," retorts Phillip.

"I'm Alan's flesh and blood."

Phillip can't respond, for Alan-Michael is right: although Alan established years ago that Phillip was his 'golden boy,' there's no denying blood when it comes to family….and business.

Phillip explains that it would be up the stockholders, and their Aunt Alex, to determine who will rightfully run Spaulding Enterprises.

"And let me remind you," Phillip continues, "many of those stockholders happen to be my ex-wives."

"And let me remind you," Alan-Michael counters, "a couple of your ex-wives also happen to be my ex-wives."

He's got me there, Phillip thinks. I wish Uncle Ross was here, he continues his train of thought. I could use his advice right now

**Part 6**

**An Island Surprise**

After ending the call from Edmund Winslow, the man enters the hotel and heads toward the elevator. He needs to touch base with Mallet once he's settled, to insure that the brave detective and Dinah Marler are safe. He's lost in thought as he pushes the button for the elevator. The door opens, he enters, and just as the doors begin to close, a woman's voice cries out, "Hold, please!" He reaches out, and a shocked expression takes hold of his face.

The woman gasps. The man behind her looks just as shocked as he feels.

"Ross?" Holly cries.


End file.
